Bulletproof whiteboards shield teachers, government staffers (with related video)
Here is another line of defense against school shooters and armed intruders. Pocomoke, Md.-based Hardwire, LLC has developed a hand-held bulletproof whiteboard that can be used as a portable teaching tool in schools and at staff and public meetings.
The board is an interactive teaching aide, and it also serves as a last line of defense in the event of a school or building intruder. The whiteboard with shield weighs less than four pounds and is 18 by 20 inches.
The composition, style and size of the whiteboard is the same as those used by military units in Afghanistan and Iraq, police, and federal agents fighting drug and gun cartels
“The whiteboard provides an element of widespread, layered interior protection for the school. Currently our teachers, school principals, and facilities have essentially zero protection. Since it is a whiteboard, it blends well in the school environment and therefore does have not have any psychological impact on the students, says Emily Heinauer, who is senior director of advanced programs at Hardwire, LLC.
According to Hardwire estimates, a typical high school can be outfitted with the product for about $20,000, or $299 per board, compared to $50,000 yearly for an armed security guard. Educational facilities, including two elementary schools in Maryland, a high school in North Dakota and the University of Delaware, have already ordered or installed the boards.
The company also offers a Bulletproof Whiteboard Clipboard that is 10 by 13 inches. It has a whiteboard (dry erase) surface on both sides. It is suited for teachers, instructors, trainers and other staffers that already use clipboards. It can be used at playgrounds, athletic fields, parking lots and other busy locations. The clipboard weighs 1 pound.
The Bulletproof Insert is a ballistic plate that is 10 by 13 inches and weighs 1 pound. It can be used as a backpack, briefcase or purse insert. Similar to the shield and whiteboard clipboard, it will stop multiple clips of ammunition from any handgun or shotgun.
Heinauer’s firm does a fair amount of work for defense and homeland security applications. The company produces shields and clipboards for police officers. Courthouse administrators have shown interest in acquiring the company’s armored products, Heinauer told Govpro. “We have the unique capability to put any graphic on our armor, so it can fit perfectly into any office or school building unobtrusively.”
From 2008 to 2011, the Hardwire development team produced more than 5,075 armor kits for the U.S. Army and Marine Corps for their Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles.
See the video demonstration of the Hardwire bulletproof whiteboard as an everyday teaching tool.
